I originally intended to write something else in my previous post but i did not want to offend anyone which is why i put it in somewhat indirect terms of military budget expenditure .

But the point is that the US represents about 50% of the worlds defence spending the EU around 25% which means that US/Nato collectively represents about 3/4 of the worlds defence spending, of the remaining 1/4 another large chunk are represented by US and EU allies like Japan, S.Korea, Singapore, Australia the gulf states, Saudi Arabia etc, this means that the US and it's "friends" represents close to 90% of the worlds military spending and this does not only reflect budgets or military power but also geopolitics .

The best way for Iran to defend itself is simply to not give the US a pretext for war .

__________________The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

The best way for Iran to defend itself is simply to not give the US a pretext for war .

Or to get and create their own nuclear weapon, then the jackals and their leader will stop bullying and threat Iran. Don't forget that China stands completely behind Iran if something happens. I wish i could say the same thing about Russia. But i hope that i am wrong.

China can't do anything about the US in the event of war neither can Russia their support will only go as far as politics at the UN level .

In comparing Russia and China's ability to intervene i think Russia is more capable of doing so than China, China is much more heavily dependent on the US and EU for it's economy and thus the communist parties own existence depends on it, Russia too is dependent on the EU but not alot on the US for it's economy or for it's political structure to survive .

In military terms the quality of the Chinese forces are still perhaps below those of the Russians, with regards capacity to deploy forces well China currently does not have the necessary air and sealift equipment and is too boxed in strategically to be able to mount any sort of military actions outside it's immediate borders, thus sending meaningful forces all the way to Iran is impossible for China meanwhile Russia can probably more easily just send tanks to Iran's northern region by crossing Azerbaidjan or the Caspian sea .

The most likely type of intervention would be if the US and it's allied forces do invade Iran and get half way to Teheran that Russia decides to intervene and send forces to Teheran basically a repeat of ww2's occupation of the southern regions by the British and the northern zone by the Russians, which would lead to some kind of stalemate but the question is wheter Russia would see doing something like this as worth the geopolitical and financial cost and effort to itself .

Truth is as Kissinger once said more or less that great powers do not commit suicide for it's client states or small allies, and indeed it is unlikely China or Russia would intervene militarily just as the USA was unable or unwilling to intervene beyond political means to save their pet Georgian regime from the Russians in 2007 .

Finally regarding acquiring nukes it would probably be the worst thing Iran can do because it would be the clearest pretext for a pre emptive invasion which means it would never get the chance to actually make them and in any case simply having nukes would not be much of a threat to the US or Nato, Pakistan has nukes yet it is bombed at will and without any deterrent effect from it's nukes on the US ... .

__________________The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

Iran to Unveil New Military Achievements in Days TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi announced that the country plans to unveil several achievements in the field of defense in the next few days.

Vahidi said new achievements in defense, aerospace and missile fields will be unveiled during the Ten-Day Dawn ceremonies from February 1 to 11, celebrating the victory of the Islamic Revolution back in 1979.

"Some of these key achievements have been mass produced and will be delivered to the Armed Forces as soon as they are unveiled to the public," Vahidi said.

The minister further noted that these achievements will once again prove the ineffectiveness of the sanctions imposed on Tehran by the West.

Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi attended the unveiling ceremony in the capital Tehran on Monday.

The general said that it is the first time that such ammunition has been designed and manufactured by Iranian experts in the Defense Industry Organization.

He added that Basir is designed to destroy tanks, military vehicles, bridges, and other moving or non-moving targets with high precision. It is also capable of identifying and locating targets.

General Vahidi noted that the projectile, which has a range of 20 km, is very useful in mountainous areas.

Iran is among top five countries capable of producing smart weapons using indigenous technology, he added.

The Islamic Republic has made great achievements in the defense sector and gained self-sufficiency in essential military hardware and defense systems in recent years.

Tehran has repeatedly assured other nations, especially regional neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.

Iran unveils another part of its military potential as the US and Israel continue their threats against Iran's nuclear facilities. The latest item unveiled by Iran's defense minister is a smart ammunition system titled “BASIR”, its main objective is to enhance Iran's defense capability during military threats.

Iran's defense minister Ahmad Vahidi told reporters that BASIR put Iran among the five countries in the world with laser targeting technology. He said except US and Russia the three other countries have obtained similar systems through technology transfer. Vahidi insisted that the current project was the work of young Iranian experts in the country's defense industries and research institutions.

And this is how the system works according to Iran's defense industries.
An artillery shell is fired. It then falls into an electronic cone whose center is aimed at the target marked by a separate electronic device in the hands of an operator far away from the target.

Iran Starts Mass Production of Black Box TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran on Tuesday officially inaugurated the production line of black box for different types of airplanes and choppers.

The line was inaugurated in an official ceremony here in Tehran attended by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi and Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli.

During the ceremony, another line was also inaugurated for overhauling and optimizing low-altitude smart air defense system.

Addressing the ceremony, Vahidi said that optimizing the system will increase Iran's operation power in low-altitude and in defending sensitive and strategic areas against warplanes, choppers, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as well as air-to-ground missiles.

On Monday, the Iranian Defense Ministry unveiled the country's first home-made laser-guided smart munitions, called Bassir.

During the ceremony on Monday, Vahidi told reporters that the new munitions are suitable to target static and mobile targets with high precision strike.

Vahidi had earlier said that Iran plans to display several home-made achievements in different military and technological fields in the near future.

New home-made satellite carrier rockets, smart ammunition, aeronautic products, as well as new electronic and telecommunication devices will be unveiled, Vahidi told reporters after a cabinet meeting here in Tehran on Sunday.

The best way for Iran to defend itself is simply to not give the US a pretext for war .

Bingo, I am not pro US government or war, however it is a much bigger and more powerful country than Iran and could destroy it in a second, I also think the US should leave Iran and other ME countries alone though.

Bingo, I am not pro US government or war, however it is a much bigger and more powerful country than Iran and could destroy it in a second, I also think the US should leave Iran and other ME countries alone though.

People are stupid for not being able to live in peace.

"could destroy it in a second" Woah, You might want to watch your language there partner

I do agree with your posts but if they would attack Iran they would pay a high price.. Iran is a military superpower, this is the reason they only use sanctions as their "weapon", they are afraid of Iran's military might, they went in Afghanistan and Iraq, why don't they do the same with Iran for an example?

It's just that, Iran's military might even scares me (lol), at every airport in Iran you see lots of soldiers doing "sarbaz" (military exercise).

Iran has produced new ballistic missiles. The short range ballistic missiles have been designed for the Naval Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

Built by Iran's Defense Ministry, the Zafar cruise missiles can evade high tech radars and hit any target in the sea. Speaking to Press TV, the defense officials say Iran's determination to design and produce ballistic missiles has no end in sight.

The Iranian commanders also said the country's missile defense system has equally progressed after test-firing advanced, mobile two-stage, solid-fuel ballistic missiles. The missiles' range brings within reach any target in the Persian Gulf and the sea of Oman.

Iran launched a new telecommunication satellite into orbit on Feb the third. According to US and Russian technical experts, Iran's recent space launch and missile test shows its rapid growth in missile technology, in which its engineers have mastered staging - a challenging technology necessary for developing longer-range missiles.

There's a good article in the New York times where a reporter interviewed many high up politicians and military folks in Israel on the whole Iran nuke situation and it seems the US and Europe want to continue with the sanctions for as long as possible, where as Israel believes 2012 is the last year it can wait and is itching to attack.
Some high up people in Israel see an attack on Iran as a mistake because an attack could only potentially delay the Nuclear program for just a few months, and with Hezbollah on its doorstep and Tel Aviv vulnerable to being bombed by Iran, an attack on Iran would be deadly. Some fellow from Mossad believed the better way of doing it was to try and convince the Iranian people and fund groups to over throw the regime themselves or something but Netenhanu or however you spell his name and is defense pal believe time is running out and that an attack would delay the nuclear program for 5 years so they are seriously convinced a strike on Iran is necessary whether the US likes it or not because Iran said it wanted to wipe Israel off the map.

ANYWAY

Should the US and Iran decide to battle it out, you won't see a US ground campaign against Iran, why? it would just be far too costly for the Americans, casualties would be high and public opinion would be low, they've just come out of a long campaign in Iraq and are still in Afghanistan and the financial burden would just be too much. Iran would be extremely tough for the US to crack in a ground campaign, there's a chance they could lose which would be unthinkable for them.
The US will use their superior Navy and Air Force and other technological know how to bomb Iran into submission, Iran I suspect will fire away the many lethal missiles at their disposal and try and drag the US into a costly ground war.